Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO), Škoda Auto a.s.
Interview | Klaus Zellmer CEO, Skoda Auto
Czech carmaker Skoda Auto has recently forayed into the Vietnamese market, and will strategically rely on CKD kits of made-in-India Skoda Slavia and Skoda Kushaq, for local assembly in Vietnam.
In this interviw, Klaus Zellmer, reveals Skoda Auto's bigger plans with this move.
#skoda #skodaslavia #skodakushaq #vietnam #tcgroup
About Klaus Zellmer
Klaus Zellmer, Chairman of the Board of Management at Škoda Auto, test-drove the new Enyaq RS iV electric SUV in June 2023. During the drive, Zellmer described the vehicle as a "full electric SUV with a sporty soul" and noted its 220 kilowatts of output, calling it "the most powerful production Škoda ever." He stated that the car accelerates from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.5 seconds, adding that it "feels like a sports car" while remaining functional for families. Zellmer also highlighted the vehicle's augmented reality head-up display, saying customers appreciate it because it allows drivers to receive navigation information without taking their eyes off the road. He remarked that Škoda customers "love to explore the world with the family" and need to feel safe, positioning the Enyaq RS iV as a companion for such exploration.
Transcript (12 segments)
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Interviewer0:09
We have in front of us Mr. Klaus Zellmer, chairman of the board of directors at Škoda Auto. So Mr. Zellmer, can you explain what this plant is about and what is the production capacity you are looking at? What kind of investment have you made in this plant so far? Over to you.
K
Klaus Zellmer0:29
Thank you very much. Generally speaking, Škoda is very successful in Europe. We are number four in terms of new car sales in Europe. However, we also hated that kind of dependency on Europe. This is why we are looking for a second strong pillar outside the European Union. India is of course the biggest and most important market that we have there. But we also look at ASEAN markets, and within the ASEAN region, we are looking at the biggest growth potential, and this is Vietnam at this point of time. They had a growth of 33% year-over-year last year, which shows there is a lot of dynamic in the market, and we want to be part of that. Now, we have not invested as Škoda Auto here in Vietnam. We have a partner, Tong Kong, the TC Group, and the automobile part of that group that have invested into an assembly facility. So we are basically providing technology and innovation, and we are also providing the brand which stands for 130 years of history. And they will then of course conquer the market with our cars coming from India, the Kushaq and Slavia, but also cars that we will bring in from Europe like the Superb, the Kodiaq, the Karoq, and the Octavia RS.
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Interviewer2:01
Okay. So what kind of arrangements would you have with India? I mean, basically we would be importing CKD cars from India. So apart from CKD, will we also be using India as a source to bring R&D or skilled manpower into Vietnam?
K
Klaus Zellmer2:24
Yeah, we have a very skilled workforce of engineers in India already looking at the Kylaq that we have introduced this year, which is successfully conquering that part of the market segment, and that has been developed in India for India. So we are very proud of that. Of course, those capacities, those competencies, and the experience will also be beneficial for anything we do here in Vietnam.
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Interviewer2:50
Okay. Now, can you provide me some context on your medium-term vision and long-term vision for the Vietnamese market and also overall globally?
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Klaus Zellmer3:02
Yeah. If you look at Vietnam, by the end of this decade, we envision 30 to 40,000 new cars sold carrying the badge Škoda. And the path and the ramp-up curve is yet to be defined. We have just done our first steps introducing the Karoq and Kodiaq here to the Vietnamese market. But the big volume players will of course be the cars that we bring as CKD kits from India to Vietnam.
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Interviewer3:29
And finally one question: you may have also explored many partners before getting into an MOU with TC Group. So what made you get into the partnership with TC Group, especially considering that they are the manufacturer of one of your rival brands?
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Klaus Zellmer3:49
Yeah, we can say that they have been for 15 years now the responsible partner to assemble Hyundai. They have done that successfully. They have built that brand and a significant volume here in the Vietnamese market. So this is why we said, well, this is the evidence that they can do it. They have the capacity, financial capability. They have the plot of land in order to provide enough space to assemble our cars. And they have the spirit. They can represent Škoda because we pride ourselves to be a brand with a human touch, with certain values, value for money, but also quality and safety. They can communicate that and they can convince people to join the Škoda family, and this is why we chose them.
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Interviewer4:42
One last question: what is the kind of volume you are looking to import from India for the assembly plant over here in the next one to two years?
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Klaus Zellmer4:51
Well, we shall see about that. We are not disclosing those numbers yet because we are too early in this business to see how the ramp-up will go. I can share of course the 30 to 40,000 by the end of the year. This will not only be Kushaq and Slavia, this will be a bigger range of cars, but this is the ballpark that I can provide right now.
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Interviewer5:13
Thank you so much. Thanks for your time. Thank you very much.
K
Klaus Zellmer5:15
Thank you.